The possibility that the pilot at the controls in an airline cockpit has mental health problems that are not being addressed is pretty unnerving. So, it’s a step in the right direction for the Federal Aviation Administration to urge pilots struggling to maintain mental health to get treatment.
The possibility that the pilot at the controls in an airline cockpit has mental health problems that are not being addressed is pretty unnerving. So, it’s a step in the right direction for the Federal Aviation Administration to urge pilots struggling to maintain mental health to get treatment.
Unfortunately, though, the FAA does not intend to initiate psychological testing for pilots, who already undergo annual medical examinations through age 40, when they then must get physical exams twice a year.
The German airline pilot who crashed his plane into the French Alps in March 2015 had severe mental health problems. Authorities have come to the grim conclusion that he purposely crashed the plane — killing some 150 people aboard.
But the FAA says it does intend to improve training for aviation medical examiners to be better able to spot mental illness. That’s a positive step, as is the announced goal of a collaborative effort between airlines and pilot unions to expand mental health assistance programs for pilots who have received a diagnosis.
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette